Insulating a 2,200sqft light industrial unit

[Navid]

Hi, the unit we have is internal and very basic with a flat metal roof, no ceiling- only exposed metal joists, breeze block walls (up to 5m high and then another 8m of hardboard/ plasterboard), and a roller shutter door.

We are using the open plan space as a studio for printing and designing, office and stock and therefore need to obtain a comfortable working temperature preferably as evenly across the whole area as possible. We are very DIY minded and have already boxed off and insulated the roller shutter entrance to cut out the draft.

As a new start-up business with no additional employees, we are conscious of spending as little as possible on heating.

We have so far considerered our best bet of a quick fix is to make the space we need to heat smaller with some kind of tented ceiling draped across the joists (ie foil backed blanket insulation, or a specific fabric). We need to find out whether this is feasible in terms of fire safety etc, if there a particular material that can be used for this purpose, and if there is a best method of putting a "tented ceiling" up?

Any advise on this would be really be appreciated, thanks!

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Do you have room inside or out for a Portacabin type building?

 

[Navid]

There is room for a portacabin but we would prefer to have the whole unit area at a workable temperature, as we will be using machinery at different stations in the room throughout the day. Also from experience we want to avoid going from feeling warm to freezing all day.

We think it would be manageable to heat the space of we could somehow lower the ceiling with fabric, just not sure on the best way to go about it.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Cheapest would probably be flameproof theatrical material which comes in big sizes.

 

[MOIC]

Why not put a 'false' ceiling.

This is presuming you don't require the full height of the premises.

Can you also section off an area for office and work areas, that may require different temperatures?

 

[DavidWH]

Our unit is smaller, but have partioned an office off which is heated by electric heater, then partitioned our production room off which is heated by a gas space heater, same for our vehicle bay.

 

[Nuno]

Some years back I made a divider for a 2500sq ft studio using the theatrical cloth atmosbob mentioned. Wire runners for the top allowing manual drawing of the curtain and undrawing (?) fixed with marine hoops ( and some turnbuckles coz they looked nice...).
Bloody heavy but good. Might be worth exploring as it could be 'undrawn' in summer.

 

[Christine Hough]

Line the walls with straw bales. Put up a suspended ceiling with thick insulation above.

 

[Matt1959]

when you say it has a flat metal roof, what materials is it made from ? just literally flat metal or metal roofing sheets with insulation in between like a sandwich? Very important this as if single skin metal and you stick heat in the area it'll end up raining in the winter (inside)

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Another idea to add. Hot air rises. If you make a reverse chimney from the top of the roof to the ground and suck the warm air back down you get quite a bit of benefit. I saw this in a church which had been converted into a home.

 

[Christine Hough]

Another approach is not to try to warm/insulate all the space but just the people who are working in it with infrared radiant heating. The sort of heaters used for outdoor cafes perhaps.

I don't know how this would work in practise but it might be worth looking into.

This company http://www.herschel-infrared.com/applications/industrial.php was recommended if you follow the thread http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/threads/infrared-radiant-heating.332556/

 

[Psl]

Install some biomass air heater units and generate some revenue whilst heating your unit.


@fuelpovertyuk @energy__saver

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Install some biomass air heater units and generate some revenue whilst heating your unit.


@fuelpovertyuk @energy__saver

From the OP
"As a new start-up business with no additional employees, we are conscious of spending as little as possible on heating. "

 

[PeteRoll80]

Look at RÖDER Company. They´re offering tents for every occasion they say. Maybe something like www. r-zs .com/en/space-solutions/sport/riding-halls/ or the lunging tents. For example. I think they can adapt their products to your demands.

 

[Psl]

From the OP
"As a new start-up business with no additional employees, we are conscious of spending as little as possible on heating. "

Thank you for reminding me of that Vvaannmmaann, even though I had read it!

As you will know you, when you spend money on heating it is gone and cannot be recouped. You do however get heat in exchange for your money.

Now, with the biomass air heater units, you still have to pay for them, you still get heat, but guess what...you also get paid for generating that heat. So, even though you still spend money to generate heat you actually get paid, by the GOV, indexed linked and guaranteed for 20 years, a payment - it's called the RHI. So, not only does the OP not spend any more money on the costs of heating, they may actually make money! This does include the initial invest for the heaters but the ROI is relatively short.

Yes there is an investment for the biomass air heater units but this offset by the RHI and lower costs going forward to generate the heat required. Have a read of this and see what the returns could be
http://www.slideshare.net/PhilipSmithLawrence/biomass-air

The savings are based on oil being the current fuel used to generate the heat and not gas.

At the moment the cost of biomass V gas is comparable, dependant what tariff your are on, and in some cases biomass can be more expensive, again dependant on the tariff you are on. But using gas as a fuel source doesn't qualify you for the RHI, whereas biomass does. And the price of gas will continue to rise in the future.

I would suspect that the biomass air heater units are a better investment than a Portacabin type building as you suggested? Both are portable and the biomass air heater units can be moved to another premises if required. In fact, they have been designed to accommodate industrial units specifically and the fact that businesses do move premises, so therefore they are easily re-installed at different premises, should the need arise, just like a Portacabin type building.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Do you mean cutting down trees in America and transporting them across the Atlantic to burn in Yorkshire power stations?

 

[Psl]

Do you mean cutting down trees in America and transporting them across the Atlantic to burn in Yorkshire power stations?

No. This has nothing to do with trees in America and power stations in Yorkshire.


@fuelpovertyuk @energy__saver

 

[The Byre]

This thread seems filled only with daft and expensive ideas!

Hang a simple lattice work made of simple wooden batons from the steel ceiling joists using wire to the required height - usually about 2.5m - and staple 2" Celotex or Kingspan PU foam boards to the underside. Also line the walls with the stuff and cover with plasterboard or sheets of plywood or fibreboard.

An alternative would be to build the lattice work and the wires it hangs by so that you can l just drop the PU boards onto it. Make sure that the boards fit tightly together - no air gaps!

Done neatly and using some sexy lighting, it can look extremely attractive!

The sheets cost about £20 each, are 2.88 sqm and have the highest insulation value of any common building material. So total cost with walls would be about £1,200 for the PU boards and £800 for the rest.

The big advantage of doing it this way, is that when you move out of this rented unit, you can take it all down and use or sell the PU boards elsewhere.

 

[Psl]

This thread seems filled only with daft and expensive ideas!

Hang a simple lattice work made of simple wooden batons from the steel ceiling joists using wire to the required height - usually about 2.5m - and staple 2" Celotex or Kingspan PU foam boards to the underside. Also line the walls with the stuff and cover with plasterboard or sheets of plywood or fibreboard.

An alternative would be to build the lattice work and the wires it hangs by so that you can l just drop the PU boards onto it. Make sure that the boards fit tightly together - no air gaps!

The sheets cost about £20 each, are 2.88 sqm and have the highest insulation value of any common building material. So total cost with walls would be about £1,200 for the PU boards and £800 for the rest.

The big advantage of doing it this way, is that when you move out of this rented unit, you can take it all down and use or sell the PU boards elsewhere.

Well, the daft theme is being continued


@fuelpovertyuk @energy__saver

 

[MBE1]

You could consider insulating the building with a spray foam, not sure on the price but hopefully will pay for itself in savings and comfort, as importantly it will help address condensation problems.

 

[Navid]

I've had a good look at some of the alternative heating ideas posted here and weighed up the possibilities so thanks for that, (no matter how bold!)

We have decided our best bet for having something done before the winter kicks in is to use our partition stud walls which we need in certain areas anyway instead of the joists to create a framework for a 3m high fabric ceiling using rolls of foil backed 3mm foam insulation which will stretch right from one side to the other, used as well down the walls. As with the flat ceiling it is insulated somewhat from above and there is ventilation so condensation shouldn't be a problem. The total cost of the materials including supports will only be around £500, we have debated putting glass-wool insulation on top of this but it's difficult to calculate what difference this will make, once up we cannot easily add this to the ceiling, if we do it would more or less double the costs.

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

Not sure if this has been suggested but I would look at used refrigeration panels. These are thick and used in cold stores. They also fit together to form walls and ceilings, It is easy to but and trim to allow doors/windows etc. They come in 10 and 20' lengths. they are also backed on both sides with a clean white finish which is easy to clean and reflective for good light. Look for them on ebay